# Resolution & Settlement

A question **resolves** when the real-world event it tracks is settled by the underlying market it is drawn from. Once a market's outcome is final, predictions on it can be settled and winnings become claimable.

## How a Question Resolves

A market resolves when the underlying condition it is drawn from resolves and that result is recorded onchain. There is no fixed deadline: the displayed resolution date is an estimate, and the actual outcome may be recorded earlier or later. Meridian Predict does not decide outcomes itself; it reads the resolved result from the underlying market. Each question resolves to one of:

* **Yes**: the event occurred.
* **No**: the event did not occur.
* **Non-decisive**: the outcome is a tie or could not be decided cleanly.

## Who Wins

A prediction settles in favor of either the predictor (you) or the counterparty (the market maker who took the other side):

* **You win** only if *every* pick in your prediction resolves decisively and matches your predicted outcome.
* **The counterparty wins** if *any* pick resolves against your prediction, **or** if *any* pick is non-decisive.

In other words, you must get every pick right for the prediction to pay out. A single wrong pick, or a single non-decisive pick, means the prediction loses.

:::warning
A non-decisive outcome (such as a tie) counts against the predictor, the same as a wrong pick. In a multi-pick prediction, one non-decisive pick causes the entire prediction to lose.
:::

## When Each Side Can Settle

For a single-pick prediction, both sides settle once that one question resolves.

For a multi-pick prediction, the two sides can settle at different times:

* **The counterparty can settle as soon as the first pick resolves against you.** Because you need *every* pick to win, one losing or non-decisive pick already decides the prediction in the counterparty's favor, so they do not have to wait for your remaining picks to resolve, and can claim the entire pool right away.
* **The predictor only settle once every pick has resolved decisively in your favor.** While any pick is still open, a winning prediction cannot be settled yet, since a remaining pick could still turn it into a loss.

## Settlement & Claiming

When a question resolves, the prediction is settled and the entire collateral pool is assigned to the winning side. A losing position is worth nothing. Winnings do not arrive automatically: you **redeem** (claim) your position to collect them, at any time after settlement.

Claiming is a separate step because positions are fungible ERC-20 tokens can be transferred, sold on the [secondary market](/trading/predictions/secondary-market), or use elsewhere in DeFi. Because these tokens can change hands at any time, the protocol pays out to whoever holds them at redemption rather than pushing funds to a fixed address. When you redeem, you receive your share of the pool in USDe, proportional to your position and matching the [odds](/trading/predictions/odds-and-payouts) you locked in. You can track and redeem your positions from your portfolio.